Intel's GPU-Less Chips Aren't Cheaper

Last week, Intel quietly added a range of new 9th generation Core processors to its line-up, all of which carried an "F" suffix as part of their model name. It turned out the F meant these chips didn't include a working graphics processing unit (GPU) on board, so a graphics card will be required to use them.

At the time, I predicted that Intel would price these new chips lower than the equivalent chips shipping with a working GPU. It made sense that as the chips with GPUs were more capable, they would cost more, but I was wrong and Intel is instead opting for pricing parity.

As Tom's Hardware reports, for all six of the announced "F" chips (Core i9-9900KF, Core i7-9700KF, Core i5-9600KF, Core i5-9400F, Core i3-9350KF, and the Core i3-8100F), the price charged will match that of the equivalent chip shipping with a GPU. So, for example, the Core i9-9900K has a list price of $488. The Core i9-9900KF will also sell for $488, but you'll also need to purchase a graphics card for it to function as part of a desktop PC.

Why would Intel choose to charge the same price for what is effectively a less-capable chip? My guess is, Intel decided to take advantage of the current chip shortage after realizing in a lot of cases the GPU-less processors may be the only ones available to purchase, so they can get away with charging the same price for them.

Recommended by Our Editors

Nvidia Unveils $2,499 Titan RTX Graphics Card

In terms of performance, both GPU and GPU-less models of the chips will perform the same. If you were going to buy a graphics card anyway it therefore doesn't matter which version you buy, it will just smart a bit having to pay the same price for those GPU-less parts.